Top New Resources

Helping patients face death, she fought to live A palliative care doctor, faced with extensive metastatic cancer, grappled with what she recommended for patients and what she wanted for herself - which was treatment and cure, at all cost.

A Gene for Alcohol Dependence? (2 min) Scientists may have narrowed down on a gene that seems to allow some people to metabolize alcohol more quickly, which may lead to a higher likelihood of dependence. What does this mean for how we manage this condition going forward?

Clinical care for Obesity and Diet Related illnesses needs more attention to Societal Determinants of Health Article from NEJM website about how despite rates of obesity starting to level off overall, the lowest income and minority populations continue to show a sharp increase. A focus on those factors as contributory needs to be a part of the discussion.

Keyword: health

Transgender health care An FAQ sheet from SPARTA - a non-federal entity, built by, for and with members from all parts of the LGBT military community, working to educate about LGBT issues and policy concerns.

The Voices Inside My Head To all appearances, Eleanor Longden was just like every other student, heading to college full of promise and without a care in the world. That was until the voices in her head started talking.

Why Doctors Care About Happiness "The association of happiness and health remains a potent touchstone in both popular and medical culture. In practical terms, which actually causes the other is less relevant than the fact that both are important."

Sex Talk Still Stigmatized in the Doctor’s Office Article describes why many patients hesitate to bring up sex and sexual dysfunction in the doctors office, and why many doctors are uncomfortable broaching the topic. Author recommends that patients should not feel uncomfortable raising the topic with physicians if they have a question or concern.

Can Your Child’s Identity Shape Yours? by Andrew Solomon Listen to Andrew Soloman’s ideas about how one can find profound meaning in differences and how they can shape one’s identity. “As long as you experience your condition as an illness, it’s your prison. Once you experience it as an identity it’s the source of your freedom.”

Conundrum by Matthew Hirschtritt A third-year medical student’s narrative of wrestling with the discord between the patient he pictured when reading her medical record and the patient he met after walking into the exam room. A contemplation of chronic illness and hidden strengths.

Poor Treatment of Mentally Ill Violates Their Human Rights by Lisa Schlein A follow-on to When Doctors Discriminate by Julianne Garey – learn more about the stigma of discrimination and what the World Health Organization has called “a hidden human rights emergency.”

When Doctors Discriminate by Juliann Garey On average, people who have mental illness die 25 years earlier than those without one. Could this be due (at least in part) to a disparity in the care they receive as a result of healthcare workers’ stigma?